Merry Christmas Amu!
by La Vie Musicale
Summary: It;s christmas time. But Ikuto has to go away for the holidays? What will happen while he's away? Amuto


**Me: Merry Christmas!!!!**

**Ikuto: Yes! The story is finally over! She has finished it!**

**Me: Yes, yes I have.**

**Amu: Do you think that they will like it?**

**Me: I hope they do. I spent a lot of time on this…**

**Riku: They'll like it.**

**Kat-chan: Yeah. It'll be fine.**

**Me: If you say so… I don't own Shugo Chara! Or any of the characters unless there are names that you don't recognize. Then they are my characters. Enjoy!**

**Merry Christmas, Amu!**

Amu and Ikuto had been dating for almost three years. Those had been probably been the best years of both their lives. They always had fun together, and they were very close. The girls at her school had long known that 'Miss Cool and Spicy' had lost that side of her personality. Her Shugo Charas had gone back into her heart and she had become the person that she was meant to be: a fantastic athlete, a superb artist, a good homemaker, and a beautiful singer.

Amu was now 16 in the eleventh grade, and Ikuto had graduated and was now 21. Yoru had returned into Ikuto's heart. He was finally free from Easter. Free to live his life. And he did. The first thing he did with his newfound freedom was go after the only girl he had feelings for, which wasn't difficult, but wasn't easy either. Ikuto found that she still had feelings for Tadase, but they weren't as strong as they were before. When Tadase had told Amu that he really loved her, Ikuto was hiding out in the closet, listening. He didn't know why, but something pissed him off.

Amu had been waiting for him to say that for as long as she could remember. So, why couldn't she respond right away? It was like something was telling her that she should still be waiting. That he wasn't the one person for her. After they had both left, she thought on it for a while.

Ikuto was curious as to who she had chosen. And he had just happened to catch her walking home from school. He jumped in front of her, surprising the heck out of her, smirking at the funny look on her face.

"So Amu-chan, have you figured out who you want to be with?"

Amu turned a deep red and nodded slowly. Ikuto leaned down into her face, which made her blush even more (if that's even possible), and she whispered something. Ikuto raised an eyebrow, and put his ear to her mouth.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"It's you." Ikuto's eyes widened. He was sure that she would choose Tadase. But she didn't. She chose him. She actually cared about him. So after that day, they became inseparable, and went everywhere together.

Three years later, and they were still going strong in their relationship. Ikuto's violin career had taken off and he was now world famous. But there were some draw backs to that. Ikuto sometimes had to go out of town for tours and concerts. It was usually no more than a week, and sometimes, her parents would even let her go along with him. It was fun, as long as they were together.

This next tour wouldn't be only be a week this time though. It would be two months. Ikuto told Amu that he would be back by Christmas time but that was still a long time. They could call each other sure, but it wouldn't be the same.

Amu walked to school the day after he had told her the news. She tried to be cheerful but it didn't exactly work. How could she go two months without him? And she knew her parents would never let her miss two months of school just to go with him.

"Amu-senpai!" Amu looked up to see a girl about a year younger than her with green pigtails running toward her.

"Hi, Kagami!" Kagami was a girl Amu was assigned to for a big-sister-little-sister program at her school.

"Are you okay, senpai? You look a little depressed…" Kagami looked worried. Amu smiled at her furrowed brow.

"It's okay. Just got a lot on my mind is all. Don't worry!" Lunch came around and she sat with Yaya, Nagihiko, and Rima. Usually she sat with the previous plus Kukai and Tadase, but Kukai had a soccer game and Tadase had something planned with his grandmother.

"You guys, it's gonna be hard to deal without Ikuto here. Especially for two months." Amu sighed.

"Yaya thinks you will be just fine. We'll take good care of you!" Yaya smiled. Rima gave one of her rare smiles and Nagihiko gave her a hug.

"Make sure you say goodbye to him for all of us. Thanks to him, you've been 100 times better than before." Nagihiko smiled.

"And we thought that you would you would end up with Tadase for sure!"

Everyone went silent as they looked at Yaya. Nagihiko gave a disapproving look and shook his head. Rima kept quiet. Amu stood up smiling and gave an excuse to leave and ran off.

"Yaya-chan. You know better than to bring that up. Tadase never has treated her the same way and she thinks it's all her fault."

Yaya dropped her head. "Yaya's sorry."

After school, Ikuto picked Amu up and they made their way towards his apartment.

"How come we're at your place?"

Ikuto smirked. "Well, you know that today was my last full day in town and I wanted to spend some time with you."

Ikuto held his hand out his hand and Amu took it, a smile gracing her lips. They walked up to Ikuto's apartment door. The room was dark except for two candles that were set up in the middle of the room. Amu walked toward the candles and saw an elegantly set table with food on the fine china.

Amu gasped at the beautiful scenery. "It's beautiful! Did you do all of this?"

Ikuto just smirked and shrugged. He lead Amu to the table and pulled her chair our for her. She sat down and they started to eat their candlelight dinner. After that, Ikuto took her home and told her that he would try to call her tomorrow. Amu didn't want to go to sleep that night. If she did, that would only make the next day come home quicker. And then Ikuto would have to leave. Nonetheless, her worries were eventually what lulled her to sleep.

The next morning, Amu got a phone call from her parents, saying that she could miss school to see Ikuto off. She was thrilled. But then she remembered that he was probably already gone.

Just then, Amu's phone rang again. She looked at the caller ID which had Ikuto's name displayed on the screen. She was confused. Why was he calling her this early in the morning?

"Hello?"

"Hey, are you still in bed?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, get out of bed and look out your window."

Amu complied and looked out of the window. Ikuto was standing outside, leaning on his shiny black BMW. He waved at Amu, a smirk painted on his face.

"I thought I would break you out of school for today. We're gonna spend the whole day together. Now get dressed. Or do you want me to come dress you?"

"No! I mean, I thought you were leaving this morning."

"I made sure to book my flight in the evening. So I'm gonna spend mu whole day with you. Well, that is if you want to…" Even if she didn't want to, it was a good chance that he would have broke into her room and dragged her out if he had to. Well, it was a good thing that Amu wanted to.

"There is nothing I would rather do than spend the day with you." Amu faintly saw Ikuto give her a genuine smile, one that only Amu could see. And she always blushed when she saw that breath-taking smile. Amu turned from the window to find something to wear.

When she came out of her apartment building, Ikuto's eyes popped opened and his mouth dropped practically to the ground. Amu was wearing a red plaid skirt and a white strapless shirt that had a plaid heart in the middle of it. She had arm warmers that went up to her upper arm and plaid thigh high socks. The outfit was topped off with white sneaker pumps. She walked up to him and looked up to his face.

She took his hand and dragged him along since he couldn't find a way to give commands to his own feet.

The two mostly just walked around in the park. They got smiles and warm looks from older couples, who were reminiscing on their younger days with their lovers. Ikuto even found himself wondering if he and Amu would grow old together. He squeezed her hand tighter as they walked on.

People from outside looking in would complain that the day was spent stupidly, as they just walked around the park all day. But to Amu and Ikuto, it seemed as they took a 5 year long world trip together. They were just happy to be near each other. It didn't matter what other people thought.

Ikuto glanced down at his watch. It was time. He looked down at Amu, giving her a sort of pained look. She immediately knew what was wrong. They walked back to Ikuto's car and drove to the airport. When they reached the terminal, Ikuto gave Amu a tight hug. Amu pulled away.

"If you come back with another girl, I swear I will hunt you down. Along with the girl you bring home."

Ikuto laughed. "I could never do that to you. Ever."

Ikuto pulled Amu into another bear hug. Amu returned the hug.

"I'll miss you so much, Amu. I think this will remind me of the old days."

Amu looked up and wiped her tears away. "No it won't. You already have me, remember?" With that, they leaned in for a kiss. For them, that kiss was as long as eternity and as short as the twinkle of a star.

It was time for Ikuto to board the plane. He gave Amu another quick hug and kiss, said his last goodbye, picked up his bags, and walked to the terminal. Amu watched him walk away for the last time for two months.

Amu grabbed a coffee and went to sit on the steps in front of the airport. She took out her cell phone, with the intention of calling her parents. Be for she pressed the call button, she looked at the number she had dialed by accident. It was Utau's phone number. She decided to go on and just dial the number. It rang once and Utau picked up the phone.

"Hello? Amu is that you?"

Amu giggled a little. "Yeah, it's me Utau. Do you think it would be okay if I slept over at your house tonight?"

"Well I don't see why not. I'll come pick you up. Where are you?"

"The airport."

"Okay, see you in a few."

The line disconnected and Amu closed her phone. It had been a while since Amu saw Ikuto's sister. She had been really busy with her singing career, though, so she could understand.

Utau drove up to the front of the airport in her yellow convertible and Amu climbed inside.

"Wow. You look hot! What did you and Ikuto do today?" She wiggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively.

Amu smiled." All we really did was walk around in the park."

Utau groaned. "That doesn't sound very romantic!"

Amu looked out of the window. "On the contrary, it was one of the best days of my life."

Utau nodded her head with understanding. She had slowly gotten over her resentment towards Amu for taking her brother away from her. Somewhere in her heart, she knew they belonged together. She just didn't want to accept it. She held fast to the idea that Ikuto was the one special person that was made just for her. And it was hard to accept the thought of Ikuto with anyone other than her. After Amu and Ikuto got together, it was hard to let go. It hurt so deep, and she had to blame it on someone. And Amu was there. And she felt so bitter. But her manager had hired someone. Her assistant. He was able to help her cope with what she was feeling inside. They eventually moved on from a stage that was more than just friends. And she was proud and happy to say that she was Toshi's girl.

Utau and Amu continued to drive on until they reached her apartment. It was pretty neat and clean. The whole place was painted purple to match the color of her eyes. It was a very tasteful.

"Go set yourself up in the guest room. You know where it is."

Amu nodded and headed toward the room. Utau realized that Amu hadn't brought anything but the clothes on her back. And since Amu had started filling out, she was able to borrow some of Utau's clothes.

Utau brought Amu some pajamas and she changed and walked out into the living room, waiting for Utau to finish up with her cleaning.

"Utau, you know that you don't have to clean up your place for me. I just wanted to talk to you, 'cause I haven't seen you in a while."

Utau smiled at Amu. "I miss seeing you too. And it's kinda strange not seeing you every other day because of Easter."

Amu giggled at her comment. Then Utau's phone started vibrating, signaling that she was getting a call. "Hey, Toshi! I really can't talk right now! My sister in law is visiting me!"

Amu gave Utau a sharp look. "Okay, Okay! Future Sister in law. Look I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Amu was beet red. "I wish you wouldn't say things like that. It's embarrassing!"

"What? So you _don't_ want to marry Ikuto?"

Amu turned a darker shade of red. "No! I'm not saying that at all… It's just…"

Utau's smile grew. "Just what?"

Amu's head dipped down. "I do want to marry Ikuto; it's just that I don't think that we're ready yet. I want to wait a little longer, for the both of us, you know?"

Utau looked at Amu with her deep purple eyes. Then she smiled. "I understand. But when you do get married, I'm your wedding planner, dress designer, and maid of honor!"

The next morning was school say for Amu, so Utau was nice enough to go to her apartment and get her school uniform. She dropped her off at school. Amu walked in with sort of a depressed look. Tadase caught a glimpse of her face. And conveniently Kagami was walking nearby.

"Hanayami-san." Kagami stopped walking and turned to Tadase. "What's wrong with Hinamori-san?"

Kagami placed her finger on her chin in thought. Then she snapped her fingers in realization. "It must be because Ikuto left her for a two month violin tour. She's been really down. I'm guessing that's the reason that she wasn't in school yesterday."

Tadase had only heard up to "Ikuto left her." Could this really have happened? Could Ikuto have really broken up with her? Was she now free for the taking? This was a dream come true! Tadase could now take back what he thought belonged to him!

But he had to be very delicate. He walked up to her to greet her.

"Hinamori-san! Good morning!" Tadase said cheerfully/

Amu turned around with a sad attempt of a smile. "Yeah, I guess…"

Tadase faked a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"I'm just going through a little bit of a tough time right now, that's all. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Tadase nodded his head and walked Amu to class. Amu's day passed by even slower than usual. Amu knew why it was passing so slowly. All she could think about was Ikuto, and how he was on the other side of the world.

School finally ended, and Amu slowly walked home. She did the very little homework she had and decided to watch some television. She got a call from Nagihiko asking if she wanted to go out shopping on the weekend. And she agreed. She needed to get out of the house. If she stayed in the house, she would just get more depressed.

At around six o clock, she got a phone call. It was an American number so she really didn't know who it was. But she was curious. She picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Amu. What's up?"

She knew that voice. "Ikuto!"

Ikuto laughed on the other side of the phone. "From your reaction, it sounds like you haven't seen me in about a year." Amu felt her face flush out of embarrassment. "Shut up! Can't I miss you?"

"Sure. It makes me feel loved. And you're the only I want to love. So long as you love me. You do love me right?"

Amu giggled. "Of course I do!"

"So we have nothing to worry about!" (Not if I have anything to say about it! =p)

"So Ikuto! Where are you right now?"

"Well, I think I'm in New York. Not quite sure…"

Amu laughed. "How are you not sure?"

"Easy, I wasn't paying attention to what was going on. But if we are in New York, then I can get you some really cool stuff for Christmas."

Amu's enthusiasm dropped a little. She forgot he was supposed to be there until Christmas day.

She was silent for a while, but came back to consciousness. "So what do you want for Christmas?"

Ikuto thought for a little bit. "Well I guess I just want to be home for Christmas. And to be with you."

Amu blushed as she looked around the room and spotted the time that was on the clock. "OH MY GOSH!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"It's really early over there isn't it?! You should get some sleep!"

Amu could swear she hear his smirk over the phone. "I couldn't possibly think about sleep. I miss you too much. I miss the way you feel in my hands, and your scent, and the way you taste…"

Amu turned a blood red. "You pervert! You have to make everything you say sound perverted don't you?"

Ikuto chuckled. "I don't have to. I choose to. A personal choice as you can see."

Amu sighed. She really loved Ikuto, but sometimes he said gross things. But she was actually attracted to that side of him. Was that weird?

On the other side of the phone, Amu heard a man in the background yelling for Ikuto to shut up. "Who was that?"

"My producer. I guess he can hear me from upstairs. That's one hell of a hearing range. I guess I gotta go. Save this number. It might be temporary, but this is the only phone I can use right now. And you can call me at any time got it?"

"You promise? You won't get mad at me if I wake you up from your nap or anything?"

"No Amu, I won't get mad. Just annoyed."

"Really?"

Ikuto laughed. "I love how clueless you are! No, I'll actually be happy if you call."

"Shut up."

"You know I love you."

"Yeah I know. I love you too. Now get off the phone before you get in trouble. And come back as soon as you can, okay?"

"Okay. Talk to you later."

"Bye." The line disconnected, and Amu smiled. She was happy. Ikuto calling was the best part of the day. Meanwhile, Ikuto sighed. This was probably harder for him than it was for her. It was like having the most beautiful trophy ever made, and not even being able to touch it or look at it.

"Man, why is she so damn beautiful?"

Amu woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. She knew Ikuto's current phone number, so she could call him anytime. Anyway today she was shopping with her friends. She put on a pink top with long kimono sleeves and white skinny jeans and pink flats. She left her waist length hair down for today. When it grew longer, she started putting it in a high ponytail, like how Nagihiko used to wear his hair before he got it cut.

Amu started on her way to the mall, earning many looks from the male persuasion. One even tried asking her out. She just smiled and said she was taken.

Yaya, Nagihiko, and Rima were standing out in front of the mall surprisingly with Kukai who had said he had practice. It was cancelled so Yaya convinced him to come to the mall. The gang started Christmas shopping nut they really didn't know what to buy.

It was a pretty fun day. Amu walked back home and stopped at her door to get her keys. He phone started to ring, and the screen displayed Kagami's name.

"Hi Kagami!"

"Hi Senpai! Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"I was wondering since we never hang out other than at school, if I could spend the night at your house?"

"Sure. I could use the company." Her phone beeped, signaling that another call was coming in. "Hold on for a sec."

She pressed the call button again to switch calls. "Hello?"

"Onee-chan! Please let me sleepover at your house. Mama and Papa are going out on a date, and I don't want to stay home by myself."

"Okay, as long as you don't mind having company."

"Alright!" Then the line went blank. The phone automatically switched back to Kagami.

"Hey Kagami, my sister is sleeping over too. Do you mind?

"No! I would love to meet your actual sister! See you in about 15 minutes."

Amu fished her keys out of her pocket and finally opened the door. A sweet aroma met her as well as a rainbow of colors. Her apartment was filled with flowers. All different kinds of them, She made her way through the sea of flowers to the main room, where she found a card.

'To my pink haired angel.'

Amu flipped over the card, but there was no name. Amu was a little scared. How did these flowers get in here? And who sent them? It wasn't Ikuto, she knew his handwriting and he signed everything, It wasn't her parents either because it would have 'our' not 'my'. So who could it be?

Amu heard a knock at the door. She trekked through the flowers and opened it to see Kagami and Ami. Ami also had a little chara floating beside her, named Konata. She had shoulder length purple hair with pink eyes, wearing a pair of black jeans and a white T-shirt with a jean vest and pink spherical barrettes, which held back her hair. Ami was currently the Queen's chair of the guardians. She wanted to be the joker but there wasn't a joker since Amu was a guardian. Once the humpty lock and dumpty key found each other, they both disappeared.

As for Konata, she was nice, but incredibly honest, almost to the point of being rude. Luckily she knew when to stop.

"Come on in!" Amu greeted the younger girls. They both gasped at the flowers that decorated the inside.

"Onee-chan, where did these come from?"

"Yeah, senpai! Are they from Ikuto?"

Amu shook her head, and handed them the card.

"Senpai, you either have a secret admirer-"

Amu character changed."- or a stalker."

Kagami nodded. "That's what I was thinking."

Amu's eyes grew wide. "A stalker? You think so?"

Ami rolled her eyes. "Onee-chan you can be so slow sometimes. And to think this happened when Ikuto left… Well let's investigate."

Kagami smirked. "I like your style kid!"

Amu nodded and gave a nervous smile. "Yes, but before we do that, let's clean this up." The two girls nodded in agreement. Outside the door, a dark figure walked away.

The next morning, Amu woke up to 4 eggs in her bed. In one hand she held the humpty lock. She didn't scream like she had done the first time though. She just blinked at them. And one by one they hatched. Starting with Ran and ending with Dia. They blinked, looked at each other, then at Amu. They screamed for joy when they saw Amu.

"Amu-chan!" each little character jumped into her arms.

Amu smiled. "What are you doing here?"

They looked puzzled. "We don't know Amu-chan. We thought you could tell us."

Ami woke up. "What is with all this noise?" The four Charas flew up to Ami's face.

"Are you Ami-chan?" She nodded. "Wow, you've grown! So you remember us right? You used to 'play' with us when you were little."

Ami nodded again still in a dazed shock. Konata floated up, sleepily rubbing her eyes. She opened them, blinked, and then screamed. "What are 4 Shugo Charas doing here?! Where did they come from?"

Amu smiled along with her Charas. "These are my Shugo Charas."

Konata nodded wearily and floated back to her egg. Amu walked over to her kitchen. Su followed her."Amu-chan. Let's chara change!"

Amu smiled. "But I know how to cook though."

"But I miss doing chara changes with you!" Amu nodded. Her barrettes changed into green clovers. "Chip, Syrup, Whip!"

After the change was over, Amu looked nervously around her. She and Su had accidently made too much food. "What are we going to do?"

"Amu, you can take some to Ikuto." Miki suggested.

"I can't. He's out of town for a violin tour."

Miki frowned in thought. "Okay, then take it to your friend at school. I'm sure they would enjoy it!"

Amu thought it was a great idea. The girls had gotten ready for school. The two oldest girls walked Amu to school and walked to their school. Amu held her bag full of goodies for her friends.

The first half of the day went by fast so she made sure to bring the snacks for her friends. Her Charas floated close behind, giggling uncontrollably at seeing the former guardians as they were now. Yaya and Nagihiko were sitting under a big tree. Rima was sitting on a nice blanket, and Kukai Tadase and Kairi were just walking up.

"Ah! Joker!" Kairi greeted. And Amu laughed. It was funny how Kairi still called her The Joker. But she was happy he had decided to move back in with his sister. Back to his friends.

"You don't have to call me that anymore, mister President." Kairi and Amu shared a laugh. Tadase just looked on as how his "Chance" was being taken away. He quickly noticed the bag that she was carrying and changed the subject to said object.

"So, Hinamori-san! What is in the bag?" Tadase asked with a smile.

Amu smirked, a trait she had learned from Ikuto. "A surprise. But first, I want to show you something. Girls you can come out now." The four Charas floated out to see the others. Everyone gasped and welcomed the four girls. "I also woke up with this in my hand." She took the Humpty Lock out of her bag and showed it to the former guardians.

"Hinamori, how did they all come back at the same time?"Kukai was there when the lock and key disappeared, along with the others.

"I don't know. It may be because of something that happened recently." Amu started to explain about the flowers, when she heard a sound. Something that was so familiar. The cry of an X-egg. It was a good thing her Charas had come back. But that didn't explain why the eggs had come back.

"Ran, do you think that we can do a character transformation? It would be fun." Ran nodded. Amu took the lock into her hands. A bright light flashed and a surge of energy flowed through her body. The light around her dimmed and Amu was dressed as Ran. The only real differences were that there was another ribbon around her leg and her hair was much longer.

"Let's go Ran!" She jumped, which was much higher, going after the egg, and it was much easier than it had been a couple years ago. She cornered it and locked on, purifying it in no time at all.

She watched as the egg flew back to its owner. She landed softly on the ground next to Tadase, and Ran popped out of the character transformation. "Amu-chan, that was fun!"

"Amu-chan. You were telling us about the flowers."

Amu nodded and continued the story. Nagihiko and Rima frowned at the same time, thinking. "Amu, I think you should call Ikuto and tell him what's going on. This sounds serious."

'_Ikuto? What can he do? He left Amu, so it's my turn now!'_

"Okay, but we have to find out where that X-egg came from. They don't just appear out of nowhere after 3 years. That doesn't make any sense."

"Amu-chi! You brought goodies. Yaya wants some! You cook as good as Nagihiko-kun's!" Yaya whined. Amu's stressed look softened. Yaya always had an amazing power to make any situation better that it was with laughter.

"Okay, Yaya. You can have some of the breakfast that I made. Su and I made too much. And I thought I would bring some for you guys."

After school, Ami walked to Amu's school. Amu ran to her when she saw her.

"Ami! What are you doing here? Is something the matter?"

Ami nodded. "Yes, Onee-chan! Your safety. You have a stalker and I want to catch the freak! Or at least help you."

Amu smiled. "Okay, but you'll have to hang out at the school for a while with me. Got it?" Ami agreed, but didn't think that they would be at the school for as long as they were. It was twilight before that left. Amu finally walked out of the school.

"Finally! It took you long enough!" Amu rolled her eyes at her sister. She started walking out as it was turning dark out.

As Amu and Ami were walking on a dark sidewalk, a dark figure blocked the way. He was dressed in a black French ball suit. His face was covered in a black masquerade mask. A deep voice resonated from his mouth.

"Hinamori Amu! I truly hope you enjoyed the gift I sent you."

Amu gasped. "Was that you? Were you the one who sent one who sent me the flowers?"

He laughed a creepy laugh. "Yes that was me."

"Hey! What is your problem? My sister is already taken!"

He laughed once again. "I am fully aware of that. But I decided to take what I wanted. And I want Amu."

"You have no right to call her by her name like that!"

He turned to jump away. "I will be back." With that he was gone. Ami turned to Amu. She was shocked, and surprised, and scared to death. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before.

Amu took her hand and dragged her to the apartment. She sat her down on the couch and kneeled in front of her.

"Onee-chan, you have to tell Ikuto about this. It's important that you do. You might end up getting hurt."

Amu finally escaped her daze and nodded slowly. She picked up her phone and started to dial Ikuto's temporary phone number. It was about eight o clock in the evening, so it would mean that it was seven in the morning where he was.

It rang about 2 times before he answered the phone. He sounded like he had been awake for hours, but that was Ikuto for you.

"Yo."

"Hey, Ikuto." Amu's voice sounded a little shaky.

"Amu? Are you okay? You sound… different."

Amu looked down as she felt her eyes start to sting with unshed tears. She faked a happy voice. "Of course everything is okay! I just wanted to hear your voice. I guess I should let you go. Talk to you later."

She clicked the end button and let herself drop her head. She held her tears back until the very end, and even then only tiny streams were visible.

"Onee-chan! Why didn't you tell him?"

Amu shook as she tried to hold back her tears. "I don't want to worry him. I want to solve this on my own."

The four Charas had a worried look on their faces. "Amu-chan…"

Amu nodded with unsureness. This wasn't going to end well.

Amu woke up with a groggy feel to her. Her eyes felt puffy and swollen. She sat up in her bed and looked around to see Amu sleeping next to her.

"Ami. Ami!" Amu shook her awake. She slowly stirred.

"What, onee-chan? Let me sleep for one more hour!"

Ran, Miki, Su and Dia laughed at Ami. She was just like her sister.

Amu smiled. "Ami, wake up. It's time for school."

"Fine, fine…" Amu opened her eyes. "Huh? Why aren't you dressed?"

Amu looked at herself. "Ohm well I guess I'm not going to school today. Tell everyone I don't fell well for me but I'll be at school tomorrow."

Ami nodded and got ready. She bid her sister good-bye and left the house. As she walked down the street, she pulled out her phone, dialed a number, and placed it to her ear. "Hello? It's Ami. Can you talk now?"

The day passed swiftly, and when Ami came home, Amu was cooking with Su as her Charas taste tested. Konata flew out of her egg, only for the call of freshly baked cake. The smell was so tempting, even Amu had a piece. And each and every one of them moaned with satisfaction of the deliciousness of the cake.

"I was going to ask how it was, but I guess it's good. Am I right?"

Dia nodded. "Amu-chan, you'd make a good bride one day!"

Amu blushed. "S-s-shut up!"

xXxXxXx

Amu was the first to get up the next morning and got ready. Ami woke up shortly after her with Amu's help of course.

As the siblings were walking down the street, Tadase came behind them, offering to walk them to school. Ami knew that he meant walk Amu to school.

Konata came out of her egg and floated beside Ami. "I don't like this guy. He gives me a weird feeling in my stomach."

Ami nodded. "I know what you mean. Something around him has changed. It's a sad air around him, you know?"

Tadase looked at Ami. "So you have a Shugo chara now? I guess that would explain why you are in the guardians. I'm Tadase, what's your name?"

"I'm Konata. Don't stand so close to me. It makes me uneasy to be around you."

"Konata, don't be rude." Ami said, even though she felt the same way.

Konata faced Tadase and bowed an apology, even though she didn't mean it.

Tadase smiled. "It's fine. No harm done." They continued their trek, until they reached the gate at Ami's school. She was dropped off and the two silently walked to their own school, where Kagami stood waiting at the gate.

"Um, Tadase-senpai, I need to talk to Amu-senpai I private. You know girl talk…"

"Senpai! I'm so worried and frustrated at the same time! But I will find your stalker!" Kagami shifted. "Can you do me favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Just be careful around Tadase-senpai. Something about him is changing drastically. And it's giving me the creeps."

Amu nodded and walked her to the school. After school, Tadase managed to catch up to Amu.

"Hinamori-san! I was wondering if you had anything planned tomorrow, since it's Sunday."

Amu thought about it. To be truthful, she thought Tadase was acting a little strange as well. She wanted to find out what was wrong with him, so she agreed.

"Great!" He replied with a smile."Now I can get my shopping done faster!"

Amu smiled and bid him farewell. Amu walked home to find Ami at her door step.

"You know, you should really make me a key."

"Why bother? You're only living here temporarily. Anyway, I have to tell the something."

Amu dug her keys out of her pocket and walked in to the room with Ami close behind.

"Tadase asked me to go shopping tomorrow. Can you spy on us? I know you don't trust him."

"Sure."

"I'm worried about him. He doesn't seem the same. Like something's… off. I just want to help him out a little."

xXxXxXxXx

The two woke up and an hour later, Tadase came to pick her up. 30 minutes later, Ami left after them. It seemed like a simple enough ordeal. Christmas shopping. It was funny how many people were out last minute shopping. But she managed to get her friends a little something, as well as Ikuto a little keychain. But it paled in comparison to the gift that she had already gotten him. It was a beautiful custom made violin, with his initials carved into the side of it. Carved out of beautiful mahogany. In American currency it would cost $700 to $800 dollars. But it was worth every cent. And of course it would never replace the violin that was left by his father.

"So Hinamori-san. Have you finished all of your Christmas shopping?"

Amu nodded. "I did it all last month, before the holiday rush. And I'm happy I did."

Tadase and Amu shared a laugh. "I'm done shopping for today. Why don't we go get something to drink from a little place I know?"

Amu looked cautious for a second, and then she nodded. She was confident that her sister would be following for her.

Unfortunately Tadase had known that she was following them the whole time and had found a way to shake her off. But he didn't know that Amu had carried the Humpty Lock and her Charas eggs with her.

"Let's go in here." They had stopped in front of a coffee shop, which was not full at all. It wasn't even half full. That was pretty funny considering how full everything else was full.

"Here it is."

"Wow! It's like a ghost town in here." Tadase just laughed at her comment. They got a booth in the back of the shop and ordered their drinks. As they got their Hot chocolate, Tadase started to shift and look uneasy.

"What's wrong, Tadase?"

"Oh, well. I was doing some thinking, and it's about your situation with Ikuto."

Amu's eyes widened. She knew this wouldn't end well. "What about Ikuto?"

"I know you've probably kind of sad with Ikuto having left and all, but I want you to know that I'm here for you if you need anyone."

"But, Tadase I-"

"No, you don't have to say anything. And I want you to have something, as well." He pulled out a blue velvet box which contained a white diamond-studded bracelet with matching earrings. Amu looked at the gift and looked away.

"I can't accept this gift."

Tadase looked confused. "Why not? Do you not like it? I can go buy you-"

"It's not that! I can't take this because-"

"Hinamori-san, please. I…I love you. I have for a long time. I mean-"

"I can't accept this because I love Ikuto."

Tadase sat quiet, only making movements to take out money of his wallet to pay for their drinks. He stood up after a while, picking up the shopping bags.

"Hinamori-san, why don't I walk you home?" Amu couldn't hear anything in his voice. Like it was… empty. She knew it was her own fault, but she had to tell him the truth. She couldn't keep misleading him.

She nodded and followed him out of the store holding but a small bag that easily fit in her purse, which was exactly where she put it.

It was turning dark out, and Amu was still out with Tadase. Amu was starting to get worried.

"Tadase, um, are we lost?"

Tadase turned around and smiled. The smile seemed fake, even to the oblivious Amu. "Don't worry. It's a short cut."

Tadase turned into the alleyway with Amu behind. He stopped in the middle of the way.

"Tadase, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? The fact that you are still in love with _him_, even after he left you! That's what's wrong! And here I am, ready to give you everything!" Tadase turned around. His eyes were glazed over, making than a deep blood red rather than a vibrant maroon.

"Yet you still cling to him! I can't take it!" A dark aura surrounded him. "This is enough!" A black light covered him completely and as it dispersed, there stood the man that had confronted her and her sister.

"Character Transformation: Dark King!"

"Tadase, was that…you?"

"Onee-chan! Watch out!" Ami came running and kneed Tadase. It didn't hurt, but it was enough to stun him. She took Amu by the hand, and Amu in turn took the lock which was on a chain under her shirt. The four Charas flew out of their eggs.

"Amu-chan! Let's Character Transform!" Dia shouted.

"Okay!"

A light surrounded Amu and Ami. "Am I character transforming too?"

Konata came out. "Let's go, Ami!"

"My own heart, unlock!" The light dispersed. And Amu was closed in Amulet Diamond's outfit, the curls at the end of her ponytails, and her frill clad wings. "Character Transformation: Amulet Diamond!"

Ami reappeared in black shorts and a white tank top. Over that was a blue jean vest with tails that went down her leg and ended at the back of her knees. Big spherical buttons held up her ponytails. "Character Transformation: Silent Screamer!"

"Come on, Onee-chan!"

"Right!"

Tadase was in the park, surrounded by scared looking people. Amu ran up to him.

"Tadase! You have to stop this! It's not right!"

"I don't care! If I can't have you, then no one can!" A purple-black aura enveloped him as his evil smile grew wider. "Emperor's Call!"

Just then, all of the people that were surrounding them fainted. Their heart's egg came out, quickly turning into X-eggs.

"Attack them!" The eggs swiftly shot at them like bullets. Ami jumped in front of Amu quickly and launched an attack. Sound waves came from her palms, and the eggs were stopped in one place.

"Silence Song!"Each egg was purified.

"Dark Ray!" A black ray was released from his mask.

"Deadly Scream!" A force field was generated. But it couldn't hold back the ray. She was knocked back onto the ground.

"Ami!" Amu called but to no avail.

"Now Hinamori-san. It is your turn." Tadase walked up close to her about to attack.

"Slash Claw!"

Amu looked up in front of her. There stood Black Lynx. But how did he find out, and how did he get Yoru back as well?

Ikuto turned around and smirked at Amu. "Yo!"

"Is that all you have to say to me you jerk?!"

He drew her into a tight hug. And she hugged him back. "Sorry. Is this better?"

Amu blushed and nodded. "How did you get Yoru back?"

"The same way you got the girls back. And I woke up with the key in my hand."

"Hey don't ignore me!" Tadase yelled.

"Well I guess we better use that then." Ikuto said.

Ikuto took out the key, and Amu removed the lock from her outfit. The key fit into the lock and a bright light surrounded all of them. When they light had dispersed, Tadase was on the ground, crying.

"Hinamori-san! I'm so sorry. I – I didn't mean for this to happen."

Amu hugged him. "It's okay. I understand."

"You know I was always happy that you had found the one for you." He passed into a state of unconsciousness. They ended up taking Tadase home as well as taking Ami back to her own home. Ikuto ended up staying over at Amu's house. And surprisingly it was Christmas Eve when this all happened.

The next morning, Ikuto and Amu woke up and exchanged gifts. Ikuto graciously took the violin, giving her another one of those rare smiles. And when Amu asked about her gift he started getting uneasy. He took out a velvet box. Inside the box sat a silver ring with a ruby at its heart.

"It's not an engagement ring. It's a promise ring. I mean I know you are probably not ready to get married right now. But when you get out of high school, we can-"

He was cut off by Amu's finger to his lips. "Shh! You'll ruin the moment with your rambling. She kissed him. And that was a very merry Christmas.

**The End**

**Me: Oh! I want to help with the wedding!**

**Kat-chan: Me too.**

**Me: Hey Kat-chan? What's your her finger?**

**Kat-chan: -blushed- Nothing!**

**Amu: Is that a promise ring?**

**Kat-chan: What about you Miyu-chan?!**

**Me: Darn I thought you wouldn't notice…**

**Kat-chan: I'm not that slow!**

**Amu: That is sooo cute!**

**Ikuto: What are we talking about?**

**Me: Your wedding!**

**Utau: Ikuto! How could you! I thought I would be your bride!**

**Ikuto: For the last time, I'm your brother!**

**Utau: that doesn't matter when two people are in love!**

**Ikuto But I'm not in love with you!**

**Me: See ya!**

**Okay on a serious note, I am really really sorry that I didn't post this yesterday. I meant to but I couldn't finish it yesterday because I was really tired. So please forgive me and have a Happy Holidays! Please leave reviews!**


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